Remington Steele (1982) s04e17 Episode Script

- She deliberately disappeared? - She simply vanished.
Trapped with 30-year-old ghosts.
It's creepy.
Oh, my God.
Dennis, start rolling.
- Who invited them? - Listen, buster.
Get that thing out of my face or it's gonna end up in pieces.
If I couldn't find her 30 years ago, you're not gonna find her now.
I'm very partial to drunk stories.
I don't know whether you are or not.
I happen to love them.
The sillier they are, the better I like them.
I heard a very cute story recently, and I'd like to tell it to you if I may.
It's the story of two drunks walkin'on a railroad track.
Two drunks walkin'on a railroad track.
One turns to the other and he says "Hey, Fred this is the longest flight of stairs I ever climbed.
" And the other one says, "It's not the steps I mind.
It's these low banisters.
" - All right.
- Whoo! What a set of pipes.
You should have heard her sing "Where Or When.
" - Really? - Mildred, you're familiar with this.
With Billie Young? You bet.
Back before she did Showtime Cavalcade Herbert used to take me to the Club Oasis, and we'd hear her sing.
"Where Or When" was our song.
Wait a minute.
I thought your husband's name was Walter.
It was.
You think that schlub would take me dancing? Ha, ha, ha.
No.
This was before Walter.
Why didn't you marry Herbert? - He was a little light in the loafers.
- Ah, yes.
Well, the woman was certainly talented.
What happened to her? - Good question.
- We'd like you to find her.
- Oh.
- Why? You haven't been following our promotional campaign.
Kyle and I are hosting TV Reunion Week.
L.
A.
Spotlight is gathering the casts from some classic '50s TV shows like Showtime Cavalcade.
And you can't locate Billie Young.
Mr.
Steele, you certainly cut right to the heart of the matter.
- Well, Miss Thomas, um- - Windsor.
Windsor-That's all part of the investigative game.
You know, to, uh, penetrate.
To probe.
- So you'll find her? - Oh, yes.
It's just a matter of hours.
- Super.
! How? - Yes, Remington, how? I'm fascinated.
Ah, yes.
How? How- How, indeed.
Um- - Skip trace.
- Precisely.
- What's that? - Uh, Miss Holt why don't you explain the intricacies of skip trace to Windsor, eh? Well, I am impressed.
Not many men are willing to admit that a woman with looks can have brains too.
Miss Holt, you are lucky to have a boss like him.
- Isn't she, huh? - Yes.
A regular Phil Donahue.
Skip trace is a systematic method we use for finding people.
- One begins with the most obvious sources.
- Such as? Phone listings.
Mildred? - Bubkes.
Service disconnected in 1956.
- D.
M.
V.
? - License expired in 1956.
- Oh.
- Screen Actors Guild? - Membership dropped, '56.
Legal records? - No marriage.
No name change.
- No death certificate.
It's as if the woman disappeared from the face of the earth 30 years ago.
Uh-oh.
- What? - Company.
- Oh.
- Great.
Mr.
Steele, I'll let you explain to Barbara Walters out there just how far we've gotten, hmm? - Now, Laura, this is your agency.
- Go.
What? Oh, boy.
Hi.
How are you doing, Kyle? Hello again, Windsor.
Sorry we're late.
Our remote segment ran a little longer than we planned.
- Nude skydiving.
Tough to cover.
- I'll bet.
So, where do we find Billie Young? - Actually- - Uh, well, Windsor this, uh, trace skip, um- - Skip trace.
- Thank you.
Has taken a little longer than expected.
You see, I've allowed Miss Holt to lead this investigation as part of her ongoing apprenticeship.
- You are a marvel.
- Oh.
A real prize.
It's been- It's been a struggle to stop from hurrying things along myself but, uh, how else is she gonna learn, hmm? Well, Miss Holt, have you found out anything yet? The trail goes ice cold immediately after Billie's last television appearance in 1956.
She seems to have covered her tracks.
Covered her tracks? You mean she deliberately disappeared? It's possible.
Our preliminary check shows she simply vanished.
It's terrific.
- It's great! - It is? Tonight on L.
A.
Spotlight.
Beauty, talent- She had it all.
What happened to Billie Young? Sex and drugs.
Another of Hollywood's unsolved mysteries.
Why, it'll be bigger than the reunion itself.
Mr.
Steele, may we follow your investigation watch a- a crack detective grapple with a 30-year-old puzzle? Oh, yes.
I suppose that would be a thrill for the viewers to take them inside the deductive process, to observe how- Mr.
Steele, I don't mean to be a wet blanket but what if we can't find Billie Young? Well, it's still a great story.
Maybe even better.
- Like the Loch Ness Monster.
- Well put, Kyle.
And it's still great publicity for all of us.
Start rolling, Dennis.
I want to get this on the show tonight.
- Mr.
Steele- - I'm just gonna get my jacket.
I won't be a minute.
Wait a minute.
Dennis, focus on Laura.
- Me? - Why, sure.
You're in charge on this one, right? Female detective leads search for actress.
There's our angle.
Windsor, I really don't, uh- - How does she look, Dennis? - Camera loves her.
Windsor, I don't, uh, think we should do this.
You see, Mr.
Steele and I- What do you mean the camera loves me? You don't have a bad angle.
Right.
But next time, don't wear white or narrow stripes.
- Looks bad on camera.
- Dennis.
This is L.
A.
Spotlight talking with Laura Holt detective partner of Remington Steele.
Laura, what do you plan to do to solve the 30-year-old mystery of Billie Young? I plan to solve it quickly, I hope.
No, seriously, Windsor there aren't any shortcuts in this kind of work.
We have to use, uh, good old reliable shoe leather.
I'll bet you do.
Tough job for a tough woman.
Tell us, what's your next move? We'll question anyone who knew Billie Young- old friends, contacts, acquaintances, people she worked with.
If Billie Young is out there, Remington Steele Investigations will find her.
We're counting on it, Laura.
If anyone watching has information regarding the whereabouts of Billie Young please contact L.
A.
Spotlight at 555-4321.
That's all for tonight's L.
A.
Spotlight.
Join Windsor and I tomorrow, when we check out the latest fitness craze to sweep the Southland.
Thank you for calling us, Ms.
Vance.
She was such a lovely girl.
Don't you think so? Now, that's an unusual inscription.
- You and Billie weren't sisters, were you? - Oh, that's our song.
Our signature on the show.
Oh, the audience loved it.
Patsy.
Ah, bravo, well done.
Uh, Patsy, on the telephone, you told us where we could find Billie.
I didn't say that.
I said I knew Billie very well.
Oh.
Patsy, do you know where Billie is? No.
Mr.
Steele, I don't think we need to waste any more of Ms.
Vance's time.
But I know why Billie disappeared.
Sally Benson.
Uh, who-who's Sally Benson? Young actress, under contract at Metro.
She did a few pictures.
- Let's see, there was- - What was her connection to Billie? Oh, Sally and Billie were best friends.
They roomed together.
- Tragic.
- Uh, tragic? Why is that? Sally killed herself.
Poor Billie was shattered.
She decided to leave Hollywood and never come back.
I told her she was making a mistake, but she left.
Lou, he tried to find her.
Even sent a detective after her.
- Lou? - Lou Mackler, Billie's agent.
- Ah - Lou Mackler? The head of Baxter Broadcasting Group? He was an agent then.
He lost a valuable property when Billie left.
She could have gone places.
He never found her.
Thank you very much, Patsy.
You've been very helpful and very gracious indeed.
Please, I've got coffee on and cookies.
- Oh.
- No, thanks.
I just thought of someone else you might talk to.
- Hmm? - Tom Hogan, Billie's makeup man.
- What would he know? - Billie and Tom were very close.
If she stayed in touch with anyone, I'll bet it would be him.
- Mm-hmm.
- May I use your phone? There's one out there.
- I was right, wasn't I? - Right? Billie should have stayed here.
People don't forget a star.
No.
People don't forget a star, Patsy.
We'll hit Tom Hogan now get to Lou Mackler tomorrow.
Sunset Boulevard.
Hogan lives on Beachwood Drive.
Gloria Swanson, William Holden.
Paramount, 1950.
That's what this case reminds me of.
Trapped with It's- Well, it's just creepy.
Is that really what's bothering you? Well, what else? I don't know.
The fact that someone else is enjoying the spotlight for once.
Are you implying that I'm jealous? Envious perhaps.
Oh, no, no, no.
Not at all.
No.
I'm delighted.
I've grown rather weary of dealing with the media, Laura.
I appreciate the break.
Funny.
I didn't get that impression when Windsor was fawning all over you.
Well, were we, uh, talking about jealousy? Was that it? This should be it.
That's odd.
He said he'd be here.
I'd say we weren't the only ones who wanted to see Mr.
Hogan.
Pick marks.
Mr.
Hogan? Oh, my God! Dennis, start rolling.
What? Who invited them? The 30-year-old mystery of actress Billie Young took a grotesque turn this evening when private investigator Laura Holt discovered Billie's former makeup man brutally murdered in his Hollywood apartment.
Laura, in your own words, tell us what happened.
Well, Windsor, as you know, we've been following all the leads we can.
Actress Patsy Vance, one of Billie Young's former colleagues told me- uh, told Mr.
Steele and me, actually- that we should look up Tom Hogan, her former makeup man.
Well, not wanting to waste any time, we came right over here only to find that, uh, someone had beaten us to him - with fatal results, as you- - Hey! You called Windsor from Patsy's and told her to meet us, hmm? Yes.
I thought Tom Hogan would make a colorful interview.
Instead, you and Windsor make a circus act out of Hogan's murder.
I didn't know Hogan was dead.
And we did not make a circus out of it.
It's a legitimate news story.
You really don't like me getting the attention, do you? I don't like the fact that, in the morning you go on television broadcasting our case and, in the evening, one of our leads turns up dead.
Are you implying that I somehow am responsible for that? - No, but under the cir- - I don't believe you.
For four years, you've been getting fabulous press because of me and now I get one break and you feel threatened.
That's not the point.
The point is, Laura- I don't want to talk about it.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Okay.
Lou, when you hired me for Spotlight, you knew my heart was in news.
Well, this is the closest thing to a news story I've seen in two years.
Hell, there's even a dead body! Mm-hmm.
And what about Spotlight? Kyle can do it.
Fluff's his forte.
Kyle's a boob, and you know it.
Come on, Lou.
One chance.
Let me prove I can do a story where all the people keep their clothes on.
All right.
One chance.
Blow it, I don't want to hear any more about you switching to news.
You got it.
I'll stick to Steele and Holt like Mike Wallace to a sweating politician.
When they find Billie Young, I'll be there.
- Ah, Windsor.
- Remington.
Laura.
Well, did you find her? We were hoping that Mr.
Mackler can help us.
Did you know he was Billie's agent? Well, of course.
That's one of the reasons he went for this TV reunion idea.
He wants to find out what happened to her.
But Lou told me he didn't have a clue where she was.
That's why I didn't mention it to you.
Well, we thought he might be of some help.
Well, that's terrific.
Listen, I've got to run but I'll catch up with you later, okay? Oh, and Laura, those are great colors.
- You'll look fabulous on camera.
- Thanks.
Hi.
Lou Mackler.
Please, come in.
It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr.
Steele.
- Thank you.
- And your industrious associate.
Uh, sit down.
Miss Holt, you're even lovelier in person than you are on camera.
Oh, thank you.
I overheard Windsor tell you that I don't know where Billie went so how may I be of service? We understand you hired a private investigator to find Billie Young Ah, that's right.
Yes.
There were some contracts and- and payments and- and- There was something about Billie.
Not just talent.
A lot of people have talent.
But- But she had something special.
Something that- Um, anyway, he never found her.
Do you happen to remember his name? As a matter of fact, I do.
Always reminded me of a character in a Raymond Chandler novel.
Slater.
Jake Slater.
Thank you, Mr.
Mackler.
That may help.
- Good.
- Thank you very much, sir.
- Yes, of course.
- Good day.
Uh, Mr.
Mackler, um how does one go from being an agent to running the Baxter Broadcasting Group? By marrying Pauline Baxter.
Good hunting.
Car's here.
Smoke coming out of the chimney.
Try it again.
It ain't broken! Uh, Jake Slater? - Who's askin'? - Uh, Remington Steele.
This is my associate, Laura Holt.
- Not interested.
- Mr.
Slater, this is very important.
Why? It concerns an old case of yours.
May we come in? Okay.
- Java? - I don't suppose you have any iced tea? - Sissy drink.
- Okay, I'll take that as a no.
Warm day for a fire.
Arthritis.
Uh, let me turn down the fire a bit.
I'm an old man.
I chill easy.
We understand.
You, uh, said something about an old case of mine? Thirty years ago, you were hired to find a singer by the name of Billie Young.
Billie Young.
Hmm.
Billie Young.
Yes, that's right.
Billie Young the actress.
Has it been that long? Never found her.
We've been hired to try again.
Would it be all right if we took a look through your case files? Can't.
Dumped 'em when I retired.
Do you remember anything about the case? Did you interview a Tom Hogan? He was her makeup man.
- He knew Billie? - Yes.
Then I talked to him.
I was good.
Listen, let me save you some time.
If I couldn't find her you're not gonna find her now.
Drop the case.
Well, uh, thanks for your time anyway, uh, Jake.
We'll see ourselves out.
Don't worry about it.
Good day.
Oop.
Sorry.
Whoo! Crusty old codger, eh? It's like a Turkish bath in there.
It might be you one day.
What is it? I have the disturbing feeling I've seen Slater somewhere before.
Hold on a second.
Oh, no.
No, no.
Can't place him.
Can't place him.
It's okay.
It's all right.
Listen, buster.
Get that thing out of my face or it's gonna end up in so many pieces that all the king's horses and all the king's men ain't gonna be able to put that back together again.
- No comment.
- Laura? Uh, give me a minute to freshen up.
- Boss? - Yeah? We gotta get rid of them.
I think I found something.
- Klutz.
- Come on, Mildred.
- What is it? - Tom Hogan's address book.
I found- - Where'd you get that? - Miss Holt.
She wanted me to check it out for leads.
- You didn't know about that? - No.
Mildred, you realize having this is a criminal offense.
Oh, come on, chief.
We do it all the time.
That's not the point, Mildred.
I'm afraid L.
A.
Spotlight has blinded Miss Holt's judgment.
- I'm the last one she'd believe about that.
- You want me to talk to her? No, I don't think that would be much better.
Well, what did you find? I found a listing for Chelsea Nash in Twin Pines.
Forgive me if I don't uncork the champagne, but who is Chelsea Nash? Chelsea Nash is the name of a character Billie Young played on Showtime Cavalcade.
Mildred, you have just won yourself a free trip to Twin Pines.
- Oh, you devil, you! - Oh, oh, oh! - What about Miss Holt and that redheaded bombshell? - Leave them to me.
Don't worry.
Ah, Miss Holt, as you're leading this investigation it seems only fair that you should be interviewed in my office.
- Oh, that's a great angle.
- I think it's a great angle as well.
Come on.
Straight through here.
Feel at home.
- Don't worry about a thing.
Don't thank me, Laura.
- Thank you.
I'm sure Phil Donahue would do the same thing.
There you go.
Make yourself at home.
Pardon me.
There you go.
Oh, howdy.
Can I help you? I hope so.
We're looking for someone.
Well, folks usually come up here to get lost, not to be found.
Uh, who are you looking for? Chelsea Nash.
We're friends of hers.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Chelsea moved.
Been gone more than a year now.
Are you sure? Here's a picture of her.
Hard to tell.
Old picture.
People change.
Did she say where she was going when she left? Mister, folks up here don't pry.
I gotta get these cleaned.
Well, it was worth a shot.
Maybe there are other people up here we could talk to.
Well, I'll be.
Hello, Billie.
Look, I'm not goin' back.
I won't be paraded around like an old relic brought out of mothballs for people to gape at.
- Miss Young- - It's Nash now.
Chelsea Nash.
Look, I'm of legal age.
Don't I have a right to disappear without my picture showin' up on a milk carton somewhere? Yeah, but people want to see you.
- People don't remember me.
- I do.
This is who you remember.
Everything she was is gone now.
I haven't sung a note in 30 years.
You're certainly entitled to your privacy but your disappearance is more of a mystery than you're aware of apparently.
- What are you talkin' about? - First of all, we know about Sally Benson.
You keep Sally out of this.
This is none of your business.
Look, we're on your side.
Oh, sure, sure.
Just like the agents and the producers.
We're prepared to turn around, go back to Los Angeles and pretend we never found you.
Yeah? - You too? - He's the boss.
Oh, that's great.
Oh, that's great, because I'm really happy here.
Yeah, I lead a quiet life.
I manage these cabins.
Nobody knows I'm Billie Young, and nobody cares.
I'm Chelsea Nash, and that's the way I like it.
Well, I guess there's nothing wrong with that.
I just need to ask you a few questions first.
Deal? Deal.
Fire away.
Uh.
Tom Hogan.
Oh, so that's how you found me.
That old fogy.
Boy, wait'll I- - What about Tommy? - He was killed last night.
Someone shot him.
Oh, Tommy.
L- L-Look, could- Could you two scram for a minute? I- I'd like to walk.
Yeah.
- I feel lousy.
- Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
You're about to feel worse.
How did they find us? Oh, Miss Holt's doing, no doubt.
Grab Fred and have him pull up about half a mile down the road.
- I'm gonna get Billie, and we'll rendezvous.
Quick.
- You got it.
Billie? Get down.
! Come on, come on, come on, come on, get down! - You got a hell of a sense of timing, Mr.
Steele.
- Shh.
Shh, shh.
- Stay here, Billie.
- Oh, don't worry.
- Where's Billie? - Uh, slight delay.
Here, Hold this.
I'll get her.
Excellent work, Fred.
Not a sign of them for the last 20 minutes.
Almost makes up for the fact that you told Miss Holt where we were.
Next time, don't answer the car phone.
I swore I would never come back here.
- Well, I'm sorry, but- - I know, I know.
I need protection.
- Yeah.
- Thirty years I lead a quiet life.
You show up, all of a sudden, I need protection.
It's just till we get to the bottom of things, Billie and we get those news hounds off your trail.
So, Mr.
Detective why are they trying to use me for target practice? Thirty years ago, another detective was sent to find you.
- Yeah? Who by? - Your agent, Lou Mackler.
Probably owed him money.
The detective's name was Jake Slater.
- So? - Do you know him? No.
Guess he wasn't as good as you.
- I wonder.
- Why? He was the man trying to kill you today.
Yep.
What do you mean Steele isn't cooperating? I thought he and Holt worked together.
I don't understand it myself.
Holt told me she'd get in touch just as soon as she had an explanation.
- Get me news.
- What are you doing? You asked for one chance.
You had it.
- Now I'm bringing in the pros.
- This is my story, Lou.
I've earned it.
- You're over your head! - But, Lou, you don't understand.
This story could do for me what Iran did for Ted Koppel.
I never thought I'd say this, but- Please.
I want to know every move you make.
This story is too good to lose.
- All right, where is she? - Mildred? You know damn well who I'm talking about.
Fred told me you found her.
What do you think you've been doing? - I was about to ask you the same thing.
- I've been doing a job! Yes, a splendid job of self-promotion, while our case blows up all around us.
I knew you were jealous, but I had no idea you'd go to such lengths to upstage me.
A killer is on the loose out there, and all you can think about is film at 11:00! - That's ridiculous.
! - Is it? I found Billie, all right and shortly thereafter, someone took a shot at her! A woman disappears to forget her past.
Thirty years later, a slick Los Angeles detective finds her, shatters her privacy tells her that one of her oldest, dearest friends has been murdered and then exposes her to the killer as well.
That makes me feel really warm all over.
Hogan was likely killed to keep anyone from finding Billie.
Why would the killer then go after Billie? Unless he felt we were getting too close.
On camera, I said we wouldn't stop until we found her.
I don't know what to say.
Mildred has Billie under lock and key at my place.
She's, um- She's safe enough for the moment.
I still don't understand why anyone would be killed over all this.
Billie must know something.
According to Billie, she's an innocent escapee from Hollywood.
- That doesn't make sense.
- Perhaps not.
- That doesn't make sense.
- Perhaps not.
But for the moment, I've been following the only lead we have.
A fedora? Our would-be assassin was wearing that up in the mountains.
Meet anyone recently who might wear a chapeau like that? - Jake Slater.
- Uh-huh.
I've been doing a little background check on old Jake.
Fascinating stuff.
Closed his detective agency in 1956.
No report of any income for the past 30 years yet he's made house payments and paid taxes on a tidy interest he's earned every year.
Charming coincidence.
Thirty years ago, he's hired to find Billie Young.
Supposedly, he can't locate her.
And yet he retires shortly thereafter with a sizable nest egg.
- Blackmail? - I don't know.
The thought has crossed my mind.
Perhaps we should payJake a little visit.
I'd like to talk to Billie first.
Something about this doesn't fit.
Oh, um, you wanna call Windsor, hmm? Was it Andy Warhol who said we all get 15 minutes of fame? I think I've had mine.
Okay.
Tell me about Sally Benson.
She was a real sweetheart, one of the good people.
And talented.
I don't think she ever knew how good she was.
I found her.
You didn't know that, huh? Yeah.
She looked so cold lying on that bare floor.
All I could think of was, "I gotta cover her up.
I gotta keep her warm.
I- I got"- I couldn't.
Why did she do it? Aw, she was pregnant and single.
You remember what it was like back then.
And it didn't help that the guy didn't want to have anything to do with her.
You knew the father? Sometimes even best friends don't tell.
He probably told her he was gonna make her a star.
I'll get us some fresh tea.
You know, somehow it doesn't seem right- Sally and Tom both gone and I'm still here.
I guess life is like that sometimes.
There's not much we can do about it.
Sometimes.
I know you'd rather be in your own bed tonight.
Billie? Billie? What was I supposed to do, handcuff her to the coffee table? No one's blaming you, Mildred.
- We just have to figure out where she could have gone.
- And why.
- Back to the lake.
- Without her luggage? Out Of The Past.
Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas.
RKO, 1947.
Mitchum plays a private detective, hired by Douglas to find Jane Greer.
He does, only he falls in love with her.
- Then he doesn't tell Douglas that he found her.
- I don't get it.
Neither do I exactly, but I have a strong feeling - this revolves around Jake Slater and Billie Young.
- You've got my vote.
- Good.
- What are you guys waiting for? That was marvelous! Would you mind repeating it for the camera? Windsor, this is not a game anymore.
It's deadly serious.
- That makes it news.
- That makes it none of your business, sweetheart.
- Excuse me.
Out of my way.
- Laura? Sorry, Windsor.
That won't work anymore.
- We had a deal.
- Deal's off.
- Since when? - Since I realized all this publicity was making me just like you.
I won't needlessly jeopardize someone's life for the sake of a story.
Don't get sanctimonious with me, sweetheart.
We're more alike under the skin than you're willing to admit.
I don't think so.
- What now? - We take the stairs.
Who's there? - Who is it? - Hello, Jake.
- Hello, Billie.
- Long time.
You shouldn't have come.
Just curious.
- Yeah? - Yeah, I wondered how you'd look after all these years.
I guess time caught up with both of us.
You're crazy to be here.
I also wondered how I'd feel- if I'd hate you as much as I've hated you for so long.
I don't.
I don't feel a thing.
Ain't that a kick? The man who destroyed me, and I don't feel a thing.
I meant to come back.
Oh, sure you did, Jake.
Sure.
You killed Tommy, didn't you? Why'd you have to do that? He was such a harmless little guy.
The pip-squeak wouldn't shut up.
I just went over to scare him off.
But he knew who I was from your letters, I guess.
But he wouldn't shut up.
Gonna kill me now too, Jake? Like you tried in the woods? This isn't the way I wanted it, Billie but I gotta protect my investment.
Slater.
! Slater, open up.
! Slater, open up.
! Some other time, doll.
Slater! - Billie! - Are you all right? - Yeah.
- Where's Jake? - Out the back.
Mr.
Steele? - Uh, yeah, what? Nail the creep.
Oh, God.
Roll tape, Dennis.
I want a three-shot of us around the body.
- I'll have your license! - Just try! Billie! Oh! Here you go.
There we are.
Just relax.
Okay.
Windsor! Oh, lousy turn radius! Come on! - Lou Mackler? - I recognized the car.
He was using me.
I told him where Billie was.
After Sally's death, I took off for the mountains.
I just wanted to forget everything I ever knew about this town.
But a man found me- - handsome, smooth- - Jake Slater.
He didn't tell me he was a detective at first.
He told me he was a truck driver.
We fell in love.
At least, I did.
Harder than I ever thought possible.
After a few days, he told me the truth- Lou Mackler hired him.
- Why? - To recover Sally's diary.
I inherited most of her stuff.
She didn't have any family.
- Why the diary? - Jake didn't know.
He'd been sent up to get it.
I hadn't read it, so I had no idea either.
So he took a look.
And? Lou Mackler got Sally pregnant.
He didn't want to marry her.
He was gonna marry some rich broad.
Sally was gonna have the baby anyway.
And she insisted that Lou be responsible as his father.
So Sally Benson didn't commit suicide.
- Lou Mackler killed her to keep his career on track.
- Yeah.
Obviously he forgot that Sally kept a diary till later.
- Well, why didn't you go to the police? - I was in love.
And Jake, he said the diary wasn't enough to prove anything.
It wouldn't bring Sally back.
So we'd hit Lou where it hurt the most.
Blackmail.
I was so in love, I'd have done anything Jake said.
So I agreed.
He covered my trail.
He wiped out every trace of my former life set me up at Twin Pines took the diary, went back to Los Angeles.
He said he'd be back for me in a week we'd be together.
He never came.
Why didn't you tell us this before? I was so ashamed.
I'd betrayed my best friend.
I was betrayed.
I lost everything.
And I've hated myself ever since.
All these years Jake was bleeding Lou, and Lou thought it was Billie.
So when I suggested TV Reunion Week Lou saw a chance to get his hands on the woman he thought had been blackmailing him for 30 years.
And I played right along.
Well, I guess you got your story.
I, for one, shall be very anxious to hear how you report it.
And so, after 30 years the truth behind actress Sally Benson's death is finally known.
Ironically, the murder of Benson was uncovered during an L.
A.
Spotlight search for Benson's longtime friend, Billie Young.
The whereabouts of Young, a former Showtime Cavalcade star, remain a mystery.
This is Windsor Thomas, Newswatch Six.
You're quiet tonight.
I was just thinking about the way I acted when I was in the spotlight.
Oh.
It's a bit troubling to find how easily we all can be seduced by the camera, eh? Why didn't you pull me aside and shake me? Oh! Would it have done any good? Sometimes it's frightening how well you know me.
How about a real scare?